I made my own Yogurt ---- And it was Good!

So readers, I officially made Yogurt in my Crockpot. It took me two attempts and was a real science project, but this morning when I woke up, I had a warm and yummy Crockpot full of homemade yogurt. I was directed to the recipe here: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html and on first attempt what I made more closely resembled cottage cheese and lacked the tang of yogurt, so I researched how to make yogurt and tried to figure out where I went wrong. A lot of effort you might think for something like yogurt, but we eat a lot of it and now I can control exactly what goes in it.

My first attempt followed the times on the recipe, and the result was less than appealing. It was lumpy and there was more whey than lumps. It tasted like sour milk, but not tangy like yogurt. I figured that my milk was too hot when I added my starter yogurt, but because I didn’t temp anything I had no idea by how much. So I tried again.

Take 2 was infinitely more successful. I used Whole Organic milk, pasteurized but not ultra-pasteurized. Apparently, from my research, ultra-pasteurized does not have enough bacteria to culture. I also used Stoneyfield Farms 2% plain yogurt, I would have used Whole here too but the store I went to didn’t carry it. I used the temperature probe on my Crockpot to heat my milk to 180 degrees. Then I turned it off. My Crockpot took a full hour longer to cool to anywhere close to 110 degrees, and I lost patience at 113 degrees and without measuring anything whisked together some of my milk and starter yogurt. Then I put it all back in my Crockpot and wrapped it in a down blanket overnight.

This morning I was pleasantly surprised to open my Crockpot to a beautiful sort of pudding like substance with a slight sheen of green whey on top. I used a few paper towels to soak up the whey and then tasted my masterpiece – I was surprised by how mild it was and how tasty warm yogurt is! I scooped out my yogurt into Tupperware and its chilling in my fridge now. I honestly felt like an idiot when the first batch didn’t turn out. Nomads made yogurt over a fire, so why couldn’t I in my kitchen. I’m very glad I persisted and yogurt making may become part of my weekend routine! The best part is I didn't even need a yogurt maker.